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Join the NCPH!

If your goal is to engage the public in history, then you should be a part of the National Council on Public History.  NCPH brings together people, agencies, businesses, institutions, academic programs, and organizations that share your commitment to broadening the public’s appreciation, understanding, and use of the past.

Through its awards, programs, publications, meetings, and other forms of professional development, NCPH recognizes and supports the work of individuals, like you, and the diverse institutions and other organizations involved in public history.  For nearly three decades, NCPH has been the leading advocate for public history and public historians.

Join or renew your membership today! (Don’t wish to renew online? Click here to download the Membership form that can be mailed or faxed.)

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Individual Membership

Individual-$70
Sustaining-$125
Student-$30
New Professional (3 years or less
in the profession)-$40

Please add $20 for postage if you reside outside of North America.

Institutional Membership – Institutions can join NCPH through the University of California Press.

Patron – Available at $500, NCPH Patrons help support the organization and make new programming possible.

Sponsor – For $300 a year, NCPH Sponsors provide much needed financial support to the organization.

Membership Benefits
As a member of NCPH, you will receive:

*The Public Historian - THE definitive voice of the public history profession, The Public Historian offers the latest scholarship and applications from the field.  From original research and case studies to broad substantive and theoretical issues, The Public Historian will keep you informed about the ever-expanding and increasingly international study and practice of public history.  Published quarterly at the University of California Press, the journal provides:

  • Articles presenting original research, case studies, and substantive discussion of theoretical issues in the practice of public history.
  • Special features such as interviews with pioneering figures in the field and forums on Native American history, preservation technology, history and memory, and other current issues.
  • Reviews of critical publications, including monographs, government gray literature, cultural resource management reports, and corporate histories.
  • Special review sections focusing on exhibits and interpretive programs, historical films, videos, and other media productions.

*Public History News – a quarterly newsletter providing updates on NCPH activities, news on developments in the field, and timely information on upcoming conferences, fellowships, meetings, and position vacancies.

*The NCPH Annual Conference – an invaluable opportunity for professional development and networking, bringing together specialists in the field, faculty and students from public history programs, and others interested in public history. Each year’s program includes guest speakers, special events, sessions and panels on a wide range of topics, and specialized workshops on topics critical to your continuing education and career development.

* Leadership Opportunities – members help to shape NCPH and the field by volunteering to serve on boards, committees, and task forces.

*Awards – the Consultants Award for outstanding work by consultants or contractors; the Robert Kelley Memorial AwardG. Wesley Johnson Award honoring distinguished and outstanding achievements in public history; the given annually for the best article in The Public Historian; the Michael Robinson Prize for Historical Analysis rewarding historical work in public policy formation; the Student Project Award; the New Professional Travel Awards; and five Graduate Student Travel Awards.

*Collaborative Efforts – including joint meetings with such groups as the National Park Service, the Organization of American Historians, and assorted regional history groups, and participation in National History Day, at local as well as other inter-organizational initiatives.

*Networking – at conferences; through the H-Public listserv, Facebook, and LinkedIn; in numerous standing committees of the organization; as well as through the up-to-date historical consultant list, job postings, other conferences, and more!

*Humanities E-Book Access – Opportunity to subscribe to the American Council of Learned Societies Humanities E-Book, which provides 3,000 select, full-text titles across the humanities and social sciences, from the 1880s through the present.  Individual subscriptions are $35 for NCPH members.

What people are saying about NPCH

“This spring I went for the first time to the National Council on Public History conference, this year in Louisville.

I have never in my life attended such a varied, vibrant and unpretentious conference gathering. Only about 1/3rd the attendees were academic historians. The rest were state and federal employees, archivists and museum workers, school teachers, impassioned civilians. What brought them together is that they were all doing history, and in many cases very fine history indeed. There was none of this “let me look at your name tag and see if you are worth talking to” nonsense, it was more “let me talk to you and find out what cool stuff you are doing.” I had a great time and was very impressed.

They have a peer-reviewed journal and a newsletter and professional standards and all of that, plus passion and fun.”

- Larry Cebula
Eastern Washington University and at the Washington State Digital Archives